It was an amazing hike, I camped in the hike-in campsites - some very special places. Lots of coastal scenery, some quite dramatic, and also the forests of the Otways and coastal heaths, and yes a little, just a little, bit of farmland. I highly recommend the trail to those interested in multi-day hikes or trekking, or those who just want to pick out some of the best day hikes. Spectacular stuff.

The blog entries for my 5 days appear below, in reverse order, having been typed up from hand-written entries I made each night (start with Day 1: Apollo Bay to Blanket Bay). They are presented here largely unedited which shows my hopes for the following day, and then you get to witness those hopes shattered. No sorry, probably being a bit dramatic.

For those of you who are impatient or just otherwise uninterested, above in this blog entry I have included the 12 very best photos here. Also find the Google Map (suggest view in full-screen mode).

#Google map feature not compatible with your browser or reader#

Driving down to Princetown from Adelaide on Saturday, I took this one rather good photo at Port Fairy. Nice place, lots of old colonial buildings, nice holiday spot one day.

10 comments:

Hi Jez. Great blog on the GOW - def the best I've found. I'm thinking of fast-packing the route in 3 days (tides permitting) - running the flats and walking the ups/downs. Were there any shops you could pick up food along the route where it seems to come close to roads (say Cape Otway, Aire River or Johanna)? Cheers - Ruth.

Hi Ruth, there is a tourist shop at Cape Otway but it only sold ice creams, drinks and tourist crap. There is a cafe on the Great Ocean Road where the trail comes out at Glenaire. I think that's all there is. Perhaps you could drop some food off and hide it in a secure box beforehand.

Awesome information on the GOW, best I have found yet! I am planning my first trip to Australia this Sep, and I am going to be hiking the GOW. Do you think it would be possible to get a copy of your GPX files?

Brad - check out the V/Line website, the Journey Planner seems the easiest way. I can see there are a few options bus route/train combos for Princetown. They drop off on the main road I think, at the town turn-off, but the town is only a few hundred metres from the turn-off.

This is the best blog on the Walk. Parks Victoria have realigned a lot of the section on the walk now so some of the more boring bits are now pretty spectacular. Up to date times and distances on the Great Ocean Walk are here. Also found on the Great Ocean Road iPhone App.